GYO

Gr 10 Up—A near-death encounter and temperamental mate are enough to strain even the most solid of couples. Add a mysterious, sickening, and inescapable stench to the mix, and a frayed relationship completely unravels. The figurative and literal demise of the romantic relationship between main characters Tadashi and Kaori begins with the arrival of an odor referred to as the "stench of death"; a repugnant smell eclipsed only by the arrival of grotesque, multilegged fish. These repulsive creatures multiply and skitter all over Japan like an invasive cockroach species, causing panic and delivering the death foreshadowed with the arrival of the odor. This invasive species causes irreparable damage and destruction through the emission of an airborne pathogen (that brings the people of Japan to the brink of extinction). Although classified as horror, this work has an underlying social commentary that is likely to be the subject of spirited discourse among mature readers. Ito masterfully builds suspense through his strategic use of shadowing, unidirectional line, hatching, and action panels featuring "sound" as the only text. The illustrations are paradoxically understated, appropriately disgusting, and achieve the right balance of abhorrence and desire to know what happens.